| From: | "J. Long" <LONG2469@********.BITNET> |
|---|---|
| Subject: | REG: RE: Rail-Gun |
| Date: | Wed, 13 Apr 1994 12:02:50 -0500 |
Rail guns, work on the same principle as Gauss Weapons. Further if you
are going to talk large calibre artillery type weapons you should look into
Mass Drivers. Gauss weapons and Mass drivers are basically created in the
same way, This is an excerpt from the Traveller RPG source book "Fusion Fire
& Steel".
" A slotted copper alloy coil magnet is arrayed to form the barrel of
the gauss gun so that current flows through the entire array along one
continuous hellical path.
The bullet has two projectile coils set into its outer casing (which is
itself nonconducting), grooves in the side to fit electrical rails which run
along the inside sides of the gun barrel, feed contact points in the grooves,
and commutation contact points attached to the coils. The feed contact points
set into the bullets grooves allow direct current to pass from the positive
left rail into the rear projectile coil and the exit the bullet through the
rear coils commutation contact point into the main magnetic coil. The current
then flows along the coil of the magnet until it reenters the bullets front
coil by way of the front coils commutation contact point and exits the bullet
by way of the front feed contact point into the negative rail. In this way,
the current moves up the barrel with the projectile, continuously accelerating
it. "
I've looked this technique up and down, and so far can see no paticular
flaws with it. It would vastly simplify the weapon, and make it so that one
would not have to have a computer in the system to control it, just a good
energy supply. I believe that the author of "F,F&S" got his information
from
the following source "Space-Based Ballistic-Missle Defense," Scientific
America, October 1984 and "Current state of Tank gun development,"
International Defense Review, October 1992. Traveller is a definate Hard-
Science based RPG and the authors have done extensive research to base thier
equipment ideas upon. Hope this help answer more questions then it creates
Stay Frosty, Chummers
Jamison J. Long (AKA Neuromancer)
LONG2469@******.CC.PLATTSBURGH.EDU
"I said where'd jester go, and merlin said where'd whooo gooo?"-Top GUN
(Forgive me if the quote is a little incorrect, I'm doing it from memory)
